From 1943 through 1953, biological warfare research on humans was observational in that it was done after occupational exposure incidents or accidents among workers in the biowarfare facilities. These incidents provided the station hospital the unique opportunity to study the onset, clinical course and possible therapeutics for many rare diseases.
In the early 1950s, due to a lack of firm data on human vulnerability to biological agents, the Army began to use human subjects in biological warfare research. Project CD-22, the first of the human research projects, involved the study of Q fever in animals and humans in the laboratory and the field. Operation Whitecoat followed this effort.